Hauling · United States
How to Start a Junk Removal Business (Startup Costs, Dump Fees, and Price per Load)
Price the load after the scale ticket, not before it.
- 1,571NAICS 562119 establishments, Census 2023
- 64.4%of those have fewer than 5 employees (1,012 ÷ 1,571)
- $136/tonThurston County garbage fee, 2026
- $138/mogeneral liability in the Insureon debris sample
Decision summary
- The 2022 NAICS index file lists “Debris removal services” under 562119. It lists local nonhazardous solid-waste hauling and waste transfer stations under 562111.
- Census County Business Patterns 2023, legal form
-: 1,571 establishments and 14,188 employees in 562119. The employment cell carries noise flag G. 1,012 establishments have fewer than 5 employees, which is 64.4% (1,012 ÷ 1,571). Read from cbp23us.zip on November 6, 2026. - The same file counts 10,982 establishments in 562111. That is the solid-waste collection industry, including transfer stations. Do not add it to 1,571, and do not call it a junk-removal count.
- Thurston County lists a 2026 garbage disposal fee of $136 per ton at the Waste and Recovery Center, and $154 per ton in 2027. Read November 6, 2026.
On this page
0. One trailer and one scale
- Pick a transfer station that posts a fee and says what it will not take.
- A household drop-off and a business that hauls other people’s waste are different offers.
- Mattresses, paint, and refrigerators are not the same ticket as bagged trash. Price the material the station names.
Junk removal startup costs
A national startup total is not on this page. No truck or trailer shelf price opened on November 6, 2026. The dump fee is the line you can read today. Insurance is a second line, from a debris-removal sample, not from a junk-only franchise brochure.
| Line | Figure | Where it came from |
|---|---|---|
| Thurston County garbage, 2026 | $136 / ton | Waste and Recovery Center. 2027 rate on the same page is $154 per ton. Loads under 300 pounds: minimum $21 in 2026 and $23 in 2027. |
| Thurston County construction debris, 2026 | $136 / ton | Same page. 2027 rate is $154 per ton. A different material can be a different ticket. |
| General liability, monthly average | $138 | Insureon debris-removal contractors, page updated July 27, 2026. Method note: median of applicants. |
| Commercial auto, monthly average | $268 | Same page. A separate policy. Do not add it to the $138. |
Dump fees and hauling rules
Thurston County is one schedule. A statewide junk-removal license was not opened. Not yet researched beyond that county’s posted rates. If the station will not take the item, the load is not priced. Do not copy $136 per ton onto a station you have not opened.
Insurance
Insureon’s debris-removal page lists general liability at $138 a month, a business owner’s policy at $125, workers’ compensation at $175, and commercial auto at $268. Updated July 27, 2026. The method note says these are medians of debris-removal contractors who apply for quotes; the headings say average. The page is not a franchise price. Get the quote for the materials you will actually put in the truck.
Does the load pay?
Profit on one load is the price minus the dump fee minus the paid minutes, including the drive to the scale. Profit for the month also has to clear the truck, insurance, and the trailer once you know those bills. The establishment counts do not set the price. No average weekly take was opened.
Price one load
Type what the customer pays, the dump fee for that load, the minutes on site, and the minutes driving. Empty stays unknown.
10. A second truck
Add another truck when paid loads already overflow the week and the contribution still covers the truck, the extra dump trips, and a second driver. The section number is an outline label, not a fleet size. A Bureau of Labor Statistics wage for this work was not opened.
First 90 days
- Days 1–14: open the transfer station page for the materials you will accept. Refuse the rest in the quote.
- Days 15–45: price insurance and the local business registration. Thurston County’s $136 per ton is one county’s 2026 garbage rate.
- Days 46–90: time real loads in the tool, including the drive and the scale ticket. Buy a second truck only after those loads cover the dump fee, labor, and the month’s fixed costs.
When to stop
Drop a job when the dump fee and the minutes use up the price, or when the station will not take the material. The tool hides the break-even count in the first case. A construction dumpster route is a different offer from a single household load.
Questions people ask
How do you start a junk removal business?
Start with loads you can haul to a place that posts a fee, and price the dump before you buy a second trailer. The 2022 NAICS index lists debris removal under 562119. Solid-waste hauling, including transfer stations, is 562111. Those are different counts. A truck shelf price was not opened on November 6, 2026.
How much does it cost to start junk removal?
This page does not have a national startup total. Thurston County, Washington, charges $136 a ton for garbage in 2026 and $154 a ton in 2027, with a minimum of $21 in 2026 for a load under 300 pounds. Insureon’s debris-removal page, updated July 27, 2026, says customers pay on average $138 a month for general liability. A truck or trailer price was not copied.
How much do junk removal owners make?
On this page, a load pays when the price covers the dump fee and the paid minutes, and the month’s loads cover the fixed costs you type. The tool prints a break-even load count only when that contribution is positive. No national owner income was opened.
How many junk removal businesses are there?
Census County Business Patterns 2023 counts 1,571 employer establishments in NAICS 562119. 1,012 have fewer than 5 employees, which is 1,012 ÷ 1,571, or 64.4%. The index line for that code includes debris removal. NAICS 562111, nonhazardous solid-waste collection, has 10,982 establishments and also includes waste transfer stations. Do not add the two counts, and do not call either one a count of junk-removal companies only.
What are junk removal dump fees?
Thurston County’s Waste and Recovery Center lists a 2026 garbage disposal fee of $136 per ton and a 2027 fee of $154 per ton. A load under 300 pounds has a minimum of $21 in 2026 and $23 in 2027. Construction and demolition debris uses the same per-ton rates on that page. Other counties are not yet researched. Type the fee for the station you will actually use.
Do I need a junk removal license?
A statewide junk-removal license page was not opened on November 6, 2026. Hauling someone else’s waste is not the same as a household drop-off. Open the transfer station’s rules and the local business registration before the first paid load. Other states are not yet researched.
How much is junk removal insurance?
Insureon’s debris-removal page, updated July 27, 2026, says customers pay on average $138 a month for general liability, $125 a month for a business owner’s policy, $175 a month for workers’ compensation, and $268 a month for commercial auto. The method note uses the median of debris-removal contractors who apply for quotes. Do not add those figures into one premium.
How do you price one junk load?
Type the price, the dump fee for that load, the minutes loading, the paid drive minutes, and a loaded hourly rate. Empty stays unknown. Break-even loads appear only after you also type the month’s fixed costs and the contribution is still positive.
When should I add a second truck?
When paid loads already overflow the week and the contribution still covers another truck, another dump trip, and the drive. A truck price was not read. Do not add capacity because a hoped-for route would look full.
Still open
- 1,571 is all of NAICS 562119. 10,982 is all of NAICS 562111. Neither is junk removal alone.
- No truck or trailer shelf price was opened.
- No 50-state hauler-license table. Thurston County’s tipping schedule is the fee page that was read.
- No Bureau of Labor Statistics wage was opened.